Industrial Packing and Crating in Vancouver

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Every item we handle demands a different method of blocking, bracing, and crating.

Sports cars, for example, are very delicate items to transport. They are made to move, and to move fast. But they can’t move inside their crates while being shipped.

In this animated gif you can see, step by step, all the work that goes in the process of preparing an expensive sports car for shipping.

We can expertly pack and crate anything you can throw our way, including environmentally friendly shrink wrapping and corrosion protection. We’ve been developing our own proprietary machinery and equipment for packing and crating for 40 years, and we know what we’re doing. We will take on any challenge.

You’ll want to follow these overseas auto shipping tips to protect a ride like this

Our Vancouver industrial packing and crating company has many years of experience in working with customers in need of overseas shipping protection for their automobiles. Cratex Group is renowned for its work in blocking and bracing of especially sensitive items that are being shipped overseas from Lower Mainland ports, and vehicles fall into that category.

Our client and prospect base for such a task is numerous. Some are car restoration specialists that need to deliver a classic custom to a collector overseas in time for a show ‘n’ shine. Some are military personnel that desire to have their privately owned vehicle (their “baby”) with them during their tenure on a foreign base. Others include automobile retailers, contractors, or simply overseas relocating households that want to ensure their car arrives in the exact same condition that it left the carport in. No matter the reason, our Vancouver packing and crating company has been providing professional blocking and bracing for valuable vehicles for quite some time. Individuals, businesses, and shippers have been using our services from the beginning. While Cratex Group alleviates the weight off of your mind for much of the overseas car shipping process we thought we’d offer a few easy to follow tips on what you too can do to prepare for your vehicle’s overseas adventure.

5 Tips to Shipping an Automobile Overseas

1. Compare Shipping Companies Early in the Process

This is no normal “within town” relocation scenario and thus must not be taken lightly. Perform due diligence months in advance as soon as you know that you will need to ship a vehicle overseas. You will likely have to pay by the mile/kilometer so that will be your initial benchmark, but don’t only use price as consideration. Company reputation is everything when it comes to selecting an overseas vehicle shipping company. Look at how long they’ve been in business, any industry accreditation they may have, and even the quality to their website will speak to their professionalism.

2. Have Your Paperwork Well in Order

Find out what paperwork (from your shipper) you will need in advance and complete for submission early as well to leave room for corrections. Duplicate copies will likely be needed for documents such as notarized ownership title, a letter from the lien holder (if applicable), an export declaration form, a declaration of dangerous goods form, and/or other documents that will be contingent upon departure locations and arrival destinations.

3. Insurance

First find out if your existing vehicle insurance provider policy covers overseas shipping of your vehicle/s. If you will indeed require insurance, your automobile shipper will be able to provide one for you at a price that often reaches up to two and a half percent of the vehicle book value.

4. Clean & Tune

Be sure to have your vehicle professionally tuned-up before shipping. Check everything from the battery and air pressure to transmission and brakes and every fluid that your vehicle depends on for health. In addition, be sure to clean your vehicle thoroughly and remove anything that can move around within during transit so as to not damage the interior of the vehicle. Also remove exterior additions such as roof racks and other appendages to keep the vehicle more compact during transport. While the more empty the better, you will still want to ensure your standard emergency items are kept secured within the trunk – jumper cables, spare tire, jack, and flashlight. Of course you’ll also want enough gas to have the vehicle driven from the arrival port to a nearby destination or gas station.

5. Perform a Documented Inspection Before Departure

Finally, perform a documented (complete with pictures and video) walk-thru inspection of your vehicle as it sits prepared for shipping. That way there can be no question nor haggling should the automobile not be in the exact same condition as it was when it left its port of departure.

The shipping world loves to come up with abbreviations that are confusing, vague and required. Often a conversation with a shipping line may become a game of alphabet soup when they start telling you all of the things that are required for your shipment. One of the terms you may come across is MSDS. What is an MSDS and do you need one for your shipment? Let’s find out.

Antiques are a piece of our history. While some can carry a strict monetary value, the antiques that have sentimental value that are truly irreplaceable.

When it comes time to move these treasured pieces, you want to ensure to protect them to their fullest extent. Some common sense and preparation can ensure that no matter where you are shipping your antiques, they will arrive unharmed.

Occasionally in the course of your business you may find the need to ship items that may be deemed environmentally dangerous. Special care must be taken in order to ensure that these items not only arrive intact, but that during the course of their transport they do not cause any harm to the transport vehicle, its operator or the other cargo being shipped along with them.

The internet has opened up the ability to sell items all over the world. In the not too distant past, the size of your item limited what you could sell on the internet; this is not the case anymore. Shipping heavy and oversize items is a daily occurrence in this global economy. You do not have to pay more for the shipping than you do for the item any longer.

There is a little more planning involved in shipping these items. There are additional rules that apply when shipping large or heavy items, and you will need to make some additional choices when it comes to how your item is going to be shipped.

When shipping a large amount of items cross country or internationally, it might be to your advantage to look into having your shipment professionally packed. Not only are professional packers experienced in making sure that your items arrive safely, they can assist with getting the most for your shipping dollars.

Improper packaging of materials during shipping can result in loss of product inventory due to damage and replacement. This can place a financial burden on the industrial shipping chain. Even worse, when cargo arrives damaged it can harm the relationship between the shipper and receiver. This can be even worse than the cost of replacing an item.

Choosing the right options and methods when you prepare your cargo for shipping can mitigate these issues greatly. This can result in a smoother process all around and may cost a bit more up front, but will save a lot of money in the long run.

At the end of long term storage or shipping, you want the items which were stored or shipped to be fully functional and in good working order. To ensure that this is going to happen, items need to be protected from the environment, degradation and other things that could inhibit their proper function. One way to do this is by having your items vacuum sealed for storage or shipping.